AP Photo/Dave EinselTexas A&M had its way with Sam Houston State last season, but recent upsets by FCS teams have the Aggies on notice.

1. Beware the upset: Head coach Kevin Sumlin said on Tuesday that he had no problem getting his players' attention when it comes to Sam Houston State after the first weekend of college football yielded seven wins for FCS teams over FBS foes, with three of those upsets coming against teams in the "power five" conferences. Sumlin specifically cited North Dakota State's road win over Kansas State for one primary reason: North Dakota State faced Sam Houston State in the FCS national championship game last season (North Dakota State won 39-13). Sam Houston State has been to the FCS national title game two years in a row, so the Bearkats aren't an easily dismissed lower-division team.

2. Watch the video: Another point Sumlin hammered home was the fact that Sam Houston State outscored Texas A&M by more than three touchdowns in the final quarter-and-a-half last season when the Aggies put their backups in the game. "A lot of those guys that were backups, in my opinion, lost the second half 28-6," Sumlin said. "And when you turn on that film of the guys who were in the game in the second half, you saw a lot of those guys playing last Saturday [against Rice]. That gets their attention, that's got our attention."

3. Improvement from youth: The Aggies played 16 true freshman and 21 newcomers total in their win over Rice. There were plenty of struggles -- particularly on defense, where 11 true freshmen saw action at some point -- as the young players adjusted to live action. Now that there's a game under their collective belt, Sumlin expects improvement from that group. The sense of urgency in preparation this week should have gone up a few notches for those players and thus help them play better this week.

4. Regaining personnel: Texas A&M had a host of suspensions in its season-opener, but the Aggies will get a few of those players back this week. Starting defensive tackle Kirby Ennis returns and that should be a significant help to the run defense. Safety Floyd Raven is back as well. Cornerback Deshazor Everett, who missed the first half of the Rice game, will miss the first half of the Sam Houston State game because he was ejected in the second half for targeting by the officials and must sit the first two quarters on Saturday by rule. But having him back out there in any capacity will help, particularly since the other starting corner, De'Vante Harris, is serving the second of a two-game suspension, as are three others (defensive end Gavin Stansbury, linebacker Steven Jenkins and receiver Edward Pope).

5. Ground and pound: Those are terms not necessarily synonymous with the Aggies' offense, but it ran the ball with plenty of success in the win over Rice. Texas A&M compiled 202 rushing yards, averaged 5.2 yards per rush and got solid efforts from both starting running back Ben Malena (82 rushing yards, 18 receiving yards, two total touchdowns) and transfer Tra Carson (14 carries, 76 yards, two touchdowns). Another transfer, Brandon Williams, joins the fray this week to help bolster the Aggies' ground attack.

6. Good special teams work: The Aggies were just about perfect on the special teams end of things on Saturday. Punter Drew Kaser averaged a whopping 62.7 yards per punt, which included a long of 76. Placekicker Taylor Bertolet was perfect on all his kicks (seven extra points, one field goal), something that he couldn't always say last season. That will be important for the Aggies to continue all season if they want to reach some of their lofty goals.

7. Let Johnny be Johnny: Texas A&M's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Johnny Manziel, played well in his short stint (6-of-8 passing, 94 yards, three touchdowns) against Rice. He showed a desire to stay and throw from the pocket once he got rid of the early nerves of entering the game at halftime and the Aggies simply need to let him continue to do what he does best -- make plays.